2Baba Delves into Agri-business

By Vanessa Obioha

Known for his work in activism to advance various socio-economic causes in the country, music icon and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Goodwill Ambassador, Innocent Idibia, popularly known as 2Baba has formally unveiled the Innobia Cooperatives Organization (Innobia Allied Ltd).

The agro-allied business venture was birthed to augment various government efforts in diversifying the Nigerian economy through agriculture and its secondary businesses. So far, the outfit has branches in Nigeria, Israel, and the United Kingdom.

Elaborating the concept of the business model, the singer revealed the primary goals in an online interaction with the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) Chief Executive Officer, Oscar Onyema, at the virtual ringing of the gong to close the market on Monday, July 13, 2020.

“We want to create jobs for our youths and empower our women in order to break the chain of poverty and contribute meaningfully to the economy. Our target is to empower a minimum of 1,000 youths in each of the 36 states and the FCT by the year 2021,” he said.

He further implored the support of the NSE. “On behalf of the board and management of Innobia, I seek your support and partnership in our bid to achieve the ultimate objective of addressing the issues of food sufficiency and job creation for our people.”

In partnership with seasoned local and international agri-business experts and concerns, Idibia commenced the Innobia operations months earlier, which led to the engagement of 10,000 women and youths in rice and soya beans production. The project is ongoing in his home state of Benue.